Santana's Reflection
by allANN
Summary: "Ms. Lopez is a therapist. I think it would be good for you-" Shelby was cutoff by Ashton standing abruptly and flinging her bag back onto her back. "I don't need a therapist," the girl directed at Shelby. "Nice meeting you," Ashton said, nodding at Santana, before quickly leaving the office. "Don't say I told you so!" Shelby scolded, the moment Santana opened her mouth.
1. Chapter 1

"Hi, Ms. Corcoran, how are you?" Santana said, leaning in to hug her favourite former teacher.

"You can call me Shelby now, Santana. How's Brittney?" Shelby inquired, returning the hug.

"Nope, you'll always be Ms. Corcoran to me. Brittany's perfect, just like always. So what've you got for me?" Santana Lopez was inspired to become a therapist after Ms. Corcoran had helped her through so much in her teen years. When she graduated with her degree, she moved back to Lima and married the love of her life, Brittany Pierce. Now Brittany coached the Cheerio's, and Santana was McKinley High's on-call therapist.

Shelby Corcoran, the school's college counselor, sat down at the small table in her office, motioning for Santana to join her. "One of my college counseling kids has gotten progressively withdrawn over the past few months. She always falls asleep in my college counseling class now, her grades are slipping, and frankly, I don't know what to do with her. So I called you."

"Have you tried talking to her?" Santana questioned, immediately.

"She's a lot like you, San. Like, almost frighteningly similar." Shelby trailed off.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Santana asked.

"Have you tried talking to you about your feelings?" Shelby retorted, incredulously.

"Hey! I talk about stuff now."

"Yeah, okay, let me rephrase. Have you tried talking to your high school self about feelings?" Shelby asked again, giving Santana a knowing look.

Santana grimaced, "Okay, I'll try talking to her and see what I get."

"Thank you," Shelby sighed. "I asked her to drop by my office around 10ish...which is in about seven minutes."

"Does she know I'm here? Like, did she agree to talk to me?"

"No, but I'm sure she'll be receptive, she's pretty easygoing and-"

Shelby was cut off by Santana, "If she's anything like me, she will walk out of this office the moment you mention I'm a therapist."

"I don't know," Shelby stopped as Santana returned the knowing look Shelby had given her earlier.

"I guess we'll see," Santana smirked, as a light knock sounded on the door.

Shelby stood up to open it revealing a tall, muscular yet lean and lanky girl, with shoulder length blonde hair that was yanked into a ponytail. "Oh, sorry," the girl began, "I didn't realize you were talking to someone, I'll wait outside."

The girl began backing out the door, only to be stopped by Shelby's hand on her shoulder gently forcing her into the room, "No, Ashton, she's supposed to be here. Come in, sit down." Ashton hesitantly walked into the room, ungracefully dumping her backpack on the ground and slumping into one of the seats around the small table. "Ashton, this is Ms. Lopez, she was my student here about seven years ago," Shelby began.

Ashton stood and offered her hand to the women across the table from her. "Nice to meet you," she said quietly, giving a curious Santana a firm handshake.

"You too," Santana said, as Ashton sat back down.

"Mr. Schuester and I coached her in Glee when we won the National Championships," Shelby continued.

"Cool," Ashton murmured, unenthusiastically.

"She's also here to talk to you. She's a therapist, and I think it would be good for you-" Shelby was cutoff by Ashton standing abruptly and flinging her bag back onto her back.

"I don't need a therapist," the girl directed at Shelby. "Nice meeting you," Ashton said, nodding at Santana, before quickly leaving the office.

"Don't say I told you so!" Shelby scolded, the moment Santana opened her mouth.

Santana slowly shut it. Then opened it and quickly shot out, "I told you so."

Shelby collapsed into the chair behind her desk, while Santana remained sitting at the small table in her former teacher's office. "You did tell me so. Damn it. I thought she'd at least let me finish the sentence."

"I wouldn't have let you finish. But she seems a lot more polite than I was in high school," Santana mused, inspecting her nails.

"Yeah, she is. But she's as stubborn as they come. Granted she's always polite about it, but it can be infuriating. You were the same way, but a little less polite," Shelby said making eye contact with Santana, who quickly shifted her eyes back down to her nails.

"Huh," she assented. "You're really worried about her," Santana pressed, softly.

"Yeah," Shelby sighed for the second time that day. "She was a different kid at the beginning of the year. Or not different, but just more engaged. Now, every time she says anything it seems calculated. Nothing she says isn't thought completely through."

Santana tilted her head to the side, "Is she in Glee with you and Mr. Schue?"

"Nope. I've never heard her sing. I've heard she's in a pretty serious children's chorus, so she's got to be good, but for some reason she's never joined. That's one of the things that introduced me to her hard head. She refused to even come to an informational meeting about Glee when I asked."

"Are you guys close?" Santana asked.

"I wouldn't call us close, but she's closer to me than any other teacher. She's like you sophomore and junior year of high school: you desperately needed help, but you were too proud to accept it or ask for it."

Santana nodded thoughtfully. "Does she play any sports here?"

Shelby laughed softly, "Basically all of them. Right now, she's on swim team. She had surgery on her ankle two months ago, but she talked Quinn into letting her swim. Against my advice, of course."

"Naturally," Santana smiled, standing up. "Alright, I'm going to go to Quinn's swim practice. Don't worry I won't talk to Ashton against her stubborn wishes," Santana interrupted as Shelby began to speak. "Let me know when you need me to come in again. I'd like to talk to her. I think it'd help."

"Me too," Shelby stood to hug Santana. "Say 'hi' to Brittany for me."

"I will, see you Ms. Corcoran," Santana waved as she walked out of the office.

Santana climbed the stairs to the pool deck, and pushed the small gate open. Quinn, who had returned to McKinley to teach English and ended up coaching the swim team too, saw her walking over. "Hey, Santana!"

"Hi Quinn, how's the hubby?" Santana teased, giving the blonde a side hug.

"He's wonderful as always, how's the wifey?" Quinn quipped back at Santana.

"Brittany's great per usual. I can't believe you married the Puckosaurus," Santana scoffed slightly. "It always amazes me..." She trailed off and laughed at the look Quinn was giving her. "Sorry, sorry, it's just hard to believe he's turned respectable. Anyways, I have a question." Quinn raised an eyebrow, indicating Santana to continue. "Tell me about Ashton?"

"Ashton Ames? Why?" Quinn asked bluntly.

"Ms. Corcoran asked me to talk to her."

Quinn nodded, "Good, she has seemed a little quieter lately. I have nothing but good things to say about her, though. She works hard and complains less than anyone, even though she just had ankle surgery."

"Has she been working any harder lately? Or less hard?"

"I mean as her ankle gets better, she's been pushing herself harder. So yeah, she's working harder, to answer your question," Quinn finished, then walked forward to give her team their next set.

Santana made brief eye contact with Ashton as the girl removed her goggles to tighten them, but Ashton dropped her eyes almost immediately. When Quinn returned, Santana bid her goodbye and left the school.


	2. Chapter 2

Ms. Corcoran frowned a little when Ashton walked into her class almost 30 minutes late. The juniors had college counseling class twice a week to prepare for their senior year. "Nice of you to join us, Ashton," Ms. Corcoran said, a little bit disappointed in the girl.

"Happy to be here," Ashton replied, equally, if not more, snarky than her teacher.

As the class came to a close, 15 minutes later, the kids packed up their stuff. "Ashton, can I talk to you for a sec?" Ms. Corcoran requested when Ashton stood up right after the bell rang.

The girl sighed, but made her way to the front of the classroom, "Yes?"

"You walked out of my office yesterday," Shelby said, getting right to the point.

"And with all due respect, I'm very close to walking out of your classroom right now."

Shelby sighed, "Ashton, please. You need help."

"And I'm out," Ashton quickly turned and began walking to the door.

"No, you aren't," Shelby said, moving quickly and getting in front the girl before she could leave. "I can force you to do this, or you can decide to help yourself. But either way, you will meet with Ms. Lopez."

"Then you'll have to force me," Ashton glared at Shelby, pushed past the older women, and walked out of the classroom.

Shelby ran her hands through her hair frustratedly, gathered her things, and walked the short distance back to her office. She sat down in her chair, and picked up her phone.

"Hi, Ms. Corcoran, what can I do for you?" Santana answered her phone.

"Is that Ms. Corcoran?" Shelby heard Brittany yell in the background.

"Yeah, babe. Britt says hi," Santana relayed to Shelby.

"Tell her I say hi back," Shelby said grinning at the dynamic between the two, visible even over the phone.

"She says she wants to see you soon. Apparently it has been too long," Santana told Shelby for Brittany.

"It absolutely has been too long. Tell Brittany to text or call me and we'll have lunch."

Shelby smiled when she heard Brittany's little squeal of excitement in the background. "Britt's very excited," Santana chuckled.

"I heard," Shelby replied.

"Anyways, what's up? I'm sure you didn't just call to have a conversation with Britt through me," Santana inquired.

"No, I didn't," Shelby was abruptly pulled back to the real world. "Ashton was 30 minutes late to my class today. And I talked to her after class ended."

"Oh, and?" Santana prompted her.

"I told her she needed help, and that I would get her help whether she wanted it or not. And then she told me I'd have to force her to talk to you and stormed out."

"That does sound like something I would've done," Santana mused.

Shelby laughed softly, "And today she was just as sassy as you used to be."

"So how do you plan on forcing her to talk with me?"

"I'm just going to tell her she can't leave until you guys sit in the same room for a session," Shelby admitted, unenthusiastically.

"You realize we'll probably sit in silence for an hour, right?" Santana asked.

"Yeah, I know. But she needs to see that people are there and are willing to help."

"You're right, you're right. Maybe after the first time, she'll come voluntarily. I mean I'm not that bad..." Santana half-joked.

"No, in fact, you're actually pretty great," Shelby reinforced in her 'mom' voice.

"Whoa, Ms. Corcoran, I'm the therapist now, remember? I don't need you to tell me I'm worth something anymore. I know that now, and frankly, Britt won't let me forget it," Santana bit her lip self-consciously, even though she was on the phone.

"I know you do. And I'm so, so glad. Can you come in on Monday, around the same time as yesterday?" Shelby requested.

"I'll be there. Bye Ms. Corcoran."

"Bye Santana, remind Brittany to text me."

"I will," Santana said before hanging up.

Three days later, Ashton showed up at Ms. Corcoran's office. The women had negotiated that in return for Ashton not getting detention for being tardy to her class multiple times, she would come to this meeting. It was Friday, and as Ashton opened the door to Ms. Corcoran's office, she thought about the million other places that she'd rather be.

"Hi Ashton," Shelby said, looking up from her computer. "Have a seat wherever." Ashton chose the seat closest to the door and sat. Shelby joined her at the small, round table after closing whatever it was she was working on. "How're you doing?"

"I'm well, how are you?" Ashton robotically replied.

"Are you really well? Cause you've been really late to my class twice this week and you look like you haven't slept in a month."

"Gee, thanks," Ashton shot back sarcastically. When Shelby gave her a look, Ashton continued reluctantly, "I've just had a lot of work lately. Late nights, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. But I checked your test calendar and you haven't had any tests or major assignments this week...," Shelby trailed off cajolingly.

"Of course you did," Ashton replied, bitterly.

Shelby rolled her eyes, "Ashton, Ms. Lopez is coming in on Monday, and I want you to talk to her."

"No. Can I go now?" Ashton quickly stated.

"No, you may not. I can either call your parents, and tell them I'm worried about you. Or, we can keep this between us, and you can talk to Ms. Lopez on Monday," Shelby offered.

"Fine, I'll be here on Monday. What time?" Ashton begrudgingly assented.

"10 am," Shelby said. Ashton walked out of the office without saying goodbye.


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday morning, Santana entered Shelby Corcoran's office at half-past-nine. "Morning Santana," Shelby greeted the younger women.

"Morning," Santana replied, still slightly grouchy from being up this early. Shelby laughed quietly and handed Santana the coffee she knew the Latina hadn't had time to make that morning. "You're a god-send," Santana said, after taking a long sip of the coffee.

"You're not a god-send. At least not before your morning coffee. I don't know how Brittany deals with you in the mornings," Shelby retorted.

Santana glared at her former teacher, but knew she was right. "So when's the delinquent coming in?"

"She's not a delinquent. She's never missed a class or a homework. She's just constantly late and silent and rude and sad," Shelby corrected, protectively.

"My bad, Mama Bear," Santana teased, gently.

Shelby rolled her eyes, "I see you are now awake and ready to make witty quips to keep the audience constantly entertained."

"And apparently you are too," Santana said, smiling at Shelby.

The two stopped their rally when they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Shelby called. The door was pushed open to reveal a very annoyed looking Ashton. The girl was wearing straight-leg jeans with red, high-top converse and a gray varsity soccer sweatshirt. She made her way to the table, and plopped down across from Santana.

"Okay, so Ashton, you remember Ms. Lopez?" Shelby ensured.

"How could I forget?" Ashton muttered, bitterly.

Shelby rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time in the past few days. "Good, then I'll leave you two to talk, and I'll be back in an hour or so," Shelby said, and walked out of her office.

"You can call me Santana if you want," Santana told the blonde sitting across from her.

"You can call me Ashton," the girl shot back quickly.

Santana almost smiled at the snarky comment. It was definitely something she would have said in high school. "Ms. Corcoran told me you've been late to class a lot recently," Santana started with a less personal question.

"So have a lot of other kids."

"A lot of other kids have been a few minutes late. You've been coming into class half-way through most of them," Santana clarified.

"As stated in the student handbook, 'less than a half hour late is not skipping class,'" Ashton retorted, steeling herself for a battle.

"I'm not trying to get you in trouble. I'm just wondering why?" Santana mentally laughed at the girl's clever manipulation of the handbook. After a full minute and no response, Santana tried again. "Have you been tired lately? Unable to sleep?" When two more minutes ticked by without a peep from the girl in front of her, Santana spoke again, "This is going to be a lot easier if we both talk."

Ashton looked up and smiled a tight, fake smile at Santana and went back to playing with the hairband on her wrist. Santana had expected this was how it was going to go, but that didn't make her any less disappointed in herself. She was good at her job. People talked to her. People trusted her. And she couldn't help this girl, who was so similar to herself, unless the girl talked and trusted. "Alright, let's get some formalities out of the way since you aren't going to reveal more than is required to me. How old are you?"

"Is that a required question?" Ashton asked, somewhat rudely.

Santana smiled slightly, "Yes, I need to ask you some basic questions for this session to count. And you need to answer them."

"17," Ashton replied shortly.

"You're in 11th grade?" Ashton nodded once in response to Santana's question. "Do you work at a paying job outside of school?" Ashton shook her head, no, this time.

"Okay, those are all the required questions, so let's try some of the others again. Why are you getting to school late, now? You were consistently on time, even early, at the beginning of the year," Santana crossed her fingers under the table that the girl would at least acknowledge the question.

Ashton did not even look up. She was now spinning her hairband around her finger. "Alright Ashton, you're free to go, but I have to be honest, I'm going to recommend to Ms. Corcoran that you talk to me again. Sometimes being silent is the worst possible thing to do to yourself," Santana advised.

Ashton simply got up and left.

Santana was sitting in Shelby's office thinking when the teacher returned. "So...?" Shelby trailed off questioningly.

"Not good," Santana replied shortly.

"I know you can't tell me what she said, but did she talk at all?"

"Barely a peep, except for some sassy remarks and required answers," Santana said.

"As expected," Shelby sighed. Santana put her head in her hands, and zoned out staring at the table. "San? You okay?"

"Fine," Santana replied quickly and vaguely.

"San," Shelby started warningly, "do I need to remind you that sharing what you're thinking about is better than keeping it bottled up inside?"

"No, no. It's just, I mean..uh, I'm annoyed at myself." Santana clarified when Shelby gave her a confused look, "I want to help her. I need to help her. I mean, she needs help. And I can't help if she won't let me help, so I don't know what to do."

"I wish I could give you an easy answer, but there isn't one. You'll figure it out though, you always do. And I'll be here to help in any way I can the whole time," Shelby reassured.

Santana stood hugged her old teacher, "Thanks Ms. Corcoran. For being there for me. I don't say thanks enough, and I just, I...uh, well-"

She was cut-off my Shelby, "You're welcome, but you did it all yourself; I was simply a sounding board."

Santana smiled, "I think she should meet with me again."

"Alright, same time next week?" Shelby asked.

"Perfect," Santana waved and walked out the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Santana pushed open the door of her apartment after driving back from McKinley that evening. Her nose immediately smelled her wife's cooking, and as she walked into the kitchen, she smiled. Brittany was singing softly to herself and dancing around the kitchen. Santana leaned against the door frame, watching her wife until the blonde noticed her.

When their eyes met, Brittany's face immediately turned red, "Hi, hon."

"Hi, my love," Santana replied, smiling. "You'd think after the millionth time I caught you doing that you wouldn't be embarrassed anymore."

Brittany looked at her feet as Santana wrapped her arms around her. Santana put a finger under Brittany's chin and pulled her into a kiss. "I love you," Brittany mumbled into the kiss.

"I love you, too. Now finish preparing our dinner," Santana teased with a gentle pat on Brittany's butt.

Brittany returned to chopping the vegetables, then looked up, "How was your session?"

"Frustrating."

"Okay..." Brittany trailed off, letting her wife decide if she wanted to talk about it. After almost 10 years of being married to Santana, Brittany knew pushing her wife to talk never worked.

"It was, uh..unproductive," Santana relented.

"Why?"

"Well, it was a girl that goes to McKinley. And you remember how I was when I was in high school?" When Brittany nodded, Santana continued, "she's me in high school. It's like looking at myself in a mirror, and she won't talk. I just want to help her because I still remember it like it was yesterday, you know?"

"She'll crack eventually. You just have to be there for her. Remember how Ms. Corcoran made you come see her like a million times before you said anything?" Brittany reassured her wife.

"It was actually the second time that I talked."

"See?! It wasn't even that long. She'll be okay. I mean, you're the best therapist around, babe," Brittany said, leaning over to kiss Santana on the head. Santana looked up and caught Brittany in a real kiss.

"Thanks, darling," Santana murmured.

"You're welcome. Now let's eat."

It was Friday and Brittany and Santana were going to have lunch with Shelby Corcoran. Santana held the door open for Brittany as they walked into McKinley. The two ladies had gotten take-out from Breadstix. "Thank you, my knight," Brittany said, exaggeratedly prancing through the door.

"Anything for you, my lady," Santana replied with a teasing bow.

The two walked hand in hand down the hallway. The school was quiet with all the kids in classes except for two small figures at the end of the hallway. As they continued down the hall, the figures emerged into two girls. A brunette was playing with the other girl's hair while the taller one pulled the hand away, holding it for longer than was necessary. "I wish we could've done that in high school," Brittany sighed. "Been that carefree as a couple and not worry about what anyone else thinks."

"I'm sorry, B. You know I wish that too. I mean-" Santana stopped abruptly and pulled Brittany down a side hallway.

"San? You okay? This isn't the way to Ms. Corcoran's office."

"Britt, that's my patient," Santana breathed in her wife's ear.

Brittany's mouth formed an 'o' before peeking around the corner. "They're gone. Come on, you can ask Ms. Corcoran about it." Santana nodded and followed Brittany to her former teacher's office.

"Hi, girls!" Shelby stood as the door opened. "Hey, Brittany," Shelby said, pulling the blonde into a tight hug.

Brittany raised her hand with the bag when she was released, "We come bearing gifts."

"You're both my saviors. Thank you, I haven't eaten all day," Shelby gushed. Shelby caught up with Brittany, asking about the girl's dance studio and her family. As they sat down to eat, Shelby realized Santana hadn't said anything yet. "Something on your mind, Santana?" Shelby inquired.

"Yeah," Santana replied slowly. "Sorry to bring work into this, but does Ashton have any good friends?"

"Everyone likes her, but I only know of a few kids who she seems to be actual friends with," Santana nodded, urging Shelby to continue. "John McIntyre, Will Fredrickson, and Brock Robin are the ones that come to mind."

"All boys?" Brittany asked, just as curious as her wife.

"Yeah, oh, well there's one girl, but I don't see them together all that much. She mostly hangs out with those boys," Shelby decided.

"What does the girl look like?" Santana asked.

"Why?" Shelby replied, suddenly curious as to where this line of questioning came from.

"We just saw her hanging out with a girl, and I'm curious," Santana explained, shooting Brittany a look to keep quiet about the couple-y interaction they had seen between the two girls.

"Alright," Shelby relented, choosing not to press. "She's shorter than Ashton and brunette. The girl's name is Romana Pebin."

"Good to know," Santana filed the information away for further use. "So Ms. Corcoran, who's the latest love interest in your life?"

Shelby rolled her eyes, "You know I can't talk about that with you guys."

"Yes you can!" Brittany argued. "We're graduates, thus you are totally not bound by any McKinley rules anymore. So you can totally tell us that you're dating Mr. Schue."

"How did you know that?!" Shelby exclaimed.

"She didn't, but now we do," Santana smirked. "Jeez, that's been a long time coming. How much hair gel does he actually use in the morning?"

"And caring, therapist Santana is gone to be replaced with everyday Santana," Shelby deflected, snarkily.

"Hey! Don't deflect! We want details!" Brittany practically yelled.

The three women finished their lunch, teasing Shelby all the while, and said their goodbye's. Santana promised to see Shelby on Monday, and with that, she and Brittany left the office to go home.


	5. Chapter 5

On Monday morning, Santana once again walked into Shelby Corcoran's office. "Morning," Santana mumbled.

"Morning," Shelby replied, sliding a coffee towards her.

Santana picked up the coffee gratefully, "Thanks."

"So Ashton should be here soon, anything I can do to help?"

"No, but I think I'm going to take her off campus. Is that okay?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Shelby nodded, "just let me know where."

"Sounds good." A knock sounded on the door, "speak of the devil," Santana smiled, pulling open the door for Ashton. "Good morning," Santana greeted her.

"Is it though?" Ashton snarked back. The girl plopped down at the little table.

"Actually Ashton, Santana, or Ms. Lopez-" Shelby corrected herself.

"Either is fine," Santana interjected.

"-is going to take you off campus today."

"Why?" Ashton asked immediately.

"Why not?" Santana shot back, standing. "Let's go, chica."

"Is she even allowed to do this?" Ashton asked, standing reluctantly.

"Yeah, she is. You leave campus by yourself all the time. Yes, I know that," Shelby said in response to Ashton's surprise. "At least you'll have supervision this time. Now, go," Shelby pointed to the door and raised her eyebrows.

"Ugh," Ashton rolled her eyes and followed Santana out the door.

When they got to BreadStix, Ashton began to get nervous. Romana was going to get lunch for her at BreadStix, and Ashton had yet to tell the other girl about Santana. As this was Romana's free period and the brunette would definitely be here, Ashton needed to go somewhere else. So she tried, "Uh, Ms. Lopez, Santana...?"

"Yeah?" Santana replied quickly, surprised the girl was talking, and more so, addressing her by name.

"Could we go somewhere else?" Ashton asked hesitantly.

"Why? BreadStix is literally the best, and only, restaurant in this town."

"Nevermind," Ashton amended, realizing Santana was right. The girl just hoped Romana wouldn't be inside.

The two sat down inside BredStix, and Ashton immediately buried her head in the menu. After they ordered, they sat in silence for four minutes before Santana tried to strike up a conversation. "So Ms. Corcoran tells me you play a lot of sports," Santana began.

"Yeah," Ashton mumbled, staring at the table.

"And you just had ankle surgery."

"Yeah."

"And you're swimming right now."

"So?"

Santana put her hands up in defense, "Just trying to make any type of conversation." When Ashton still didn't respond, Santana sighed. "Did you know Quinn was in my class at McKinley?"

"I didn't," Ashton said, sticking to the short responses.

"She was head Cheerio before she quit."

"Quinn was a Cheerio?!" Ashton asked, surprised.

"Yup, so was I," Santana continued on this line of conversation since she was happy to get more than two words at a time out of Ashton.

"Oh my god," the girl mumbled. "Swim practice is going to be fun today."

"Just don't tell her I told you."

Ashton nodded, "Okay."

"How's you're rehab going for your ankle?"

"Fine."

"And we've reverted to one word answers. You've got to help me out here, Ash," Santana implored.

"Don't call me Ash. No one calls me Ash."

"Okay, sorry, duly noted. Then Ashton," Santana said, emphasizing the two syllables, "will you please talk to-"

"Hey, Ash!" A brunette called, walking over.

"Ash?" Santana said quietly, raising her eyebrow.

"Hi, Romana," Ashton sighed, turning red under Santana's interested look.

"Okay.." the girl trailed off, confused by the use of her full name. "Apparently we're being formal. Hello, Ashton. Who's this?" The shorter girl gestured to Santana, sliding into the booth next to Ashton and shoving the blonde over in the process.

"No, Rom, you can't, I mean..this isn't-" Ashton stopped frustrated (Rom is pronounced Rome).

"I'm Santana Lopez," Santana interjected, extending her hand across the small table.

"Romana Pebin, nice to meet you," Romana said, shaking her hand. "You were in Glee at McKinley right?" When Santana nodded, the girl continued, "Ms. Corcoran and Mr. Schue have mentioned you a couple times."

"I'm flattered. You're in Glee?"

Romana nodded, "Yup. So what're you and Ash doing? How do you know each other?"

Ashton opened her mouth to respond and then closed it, unsure of what to say. She and Romana told each other everything, but she had kept this to herself because it could lead to questions she wasn't ready to answer. Santana saw Ashton's hesitation and jumped in, "I'm interviewing Ashton for an article I'm writing about the college counseling curriculum for the school board."

"Oh, cool," Romana said, glancing searchingly at Ashton. Romana didn't know why Ashton didn't just say that. A number was called over the intercom, and Romana stood up. "That's our lunch, Ash. Nice to meet you, Santana," Romana waved before leaning over and giving Ashton a quick kiss on the cheek. Ashton turned very red as Romana walked away.

"So, Ash, no one calls you that?" Santana asked, raising her eyebrow again.

"Can we go back to school?" Ashton asked, ignoring the question.

"We haven't gotten our food yet," Santana pointed out.

"I'm not hungry," Ashton responded.

"Because you want to eat with Romana?" Santana questioned.

"Because I don't want to eat with you," Ashton shot back, standing up and walking out of the restaurant. Santana quickly canceled their order and then followed the teenager outside.


	6. Chapter 6

Santana found Ashton running away from McKinley. She pulled up beside Ashton, parked her car, and began running next to her. "You know you have to go back to school, today," Santana started. Ashton didn't even acknowledge she was there. "Look, you don't have to go back to class today if you don't want to, but for insurance reasons you have to either stay with me or stay in Ms. Corcoran's room." Santana was breathing hard at this point. And she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to keep up with Ashton's pace when the girl suddenly stopped.

"Can you take me back to Ms. Corcoran's office?" She asked, abruptly.

"Sure, let's go back to my car," Santana said, turning around to walk back to her car. It took almost double the time to walk back to Santana's car. They climbed in, and Santana handed Ashton the auxiliary cord. "You can DJ," Santana offered.

Ashton hesitated, but then grabbed the cord and plugged her phone in. Santana was immensely curious to see what type of music the blonde would play. As the opening chords of The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel fill the car, a small smile formed on Santana's face. They listened to the song in silence, but when the verse that gives the song it's name trickled out the speakers...

_In the clearing stands a boxer,_

_And a fighter by his trade_

_And he carries the reminders_

_Of ev'ry glove that laid him down_

_And cut him till he cried out_

_In his anger and his shame,_

_"I am leaving, I am leaving."_

_But the fighter still remains_

...Santana saw Ashton quickly wipe away a tear. The girl stared adamantly away from Santana until they reached the school. Ashton immediately climbed out of the car, and made her way into the school. "Ashton," Santana called after her, "do you want to just hang out in Ms. Corcoran's room for the rest of the day? Or do you want to go to class?"

"I'll just go to class," Ashton mumbled quietly, before turning and walking quickly away.

Santana swung open the door to Shelby's office and collapsed into a chair. "Well, I don't know if that was a complete failure or a complete success."

"Why?" Shelby asked, spinning in her chair to face Santana.

"Well, I think I know what the problem is, but she does not want to talk about it."

"Did she ever want to talk about it?"

"True," Santana replied, cracking a small smile.

During lunch, Ashton walked out of the school doors to the field. She made her way across the field and then under the bleachers. The girl was confused. Santana's questions had forced thoughts to the front of her mind that she had been stifling for this entire school year.

Ashton looked up when she heard footsteps crunching the gravel under someone's feet. And she made eye contact with the last person she wanted to see right now. "Hey, Ash. I brought you lunch," Romana said, holding the bag of BreadStix up while smiling and winking.

"Leave me alone," Ashton replied harshly.

"Ash, it's me. You texted me your lunch order earlier, remember?" Romana asked again, confused.

"Rom, go away. Do I look like I want to talk or eat right now?" Ashton's voice morphed into a yell.

"Well, excuse me for bringing you the lunch you asked for!" Romana yelled back.

"I don't want it! You want money for it!? Here! Take some fucking money," Ashton threw money at Romana.

"I don't want your money! I just wanted to eat lunch and hang out with you!"

"Well, I don't want to hang out with you or your stupid Cheerios' uniform! So just go!" Ashton was closer to screaming now.

"I'm so done with your random mood swings. Take your fucking lunch. I didn't even get anything for me, so just take it!" Romana threw the lunch on the ground at Ashton's feet and stormed away.

Brittany saw Romana walking out from under the bleachers, wiping tears from her eyes. The girl walked quickly across the field, keeping her head down. Then she walked right past Brittany's office into the Cheerios locker room. Brittany heard the sounds of sniffles, and decided to see what was wrong. The blonde made her way quietly into the locker room, but she didn't see anyone. She could still hear the sniffles though, so she called out, "Rom? Where are you?"

The sniffles stopped, and everything was silent for a second before one of the bathroom stalls opened, and Romana walked out, "Hey, Coach Brittany," the girl mumbled.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Brittany asked, motioning Romana over to one of the benches she was sitting on by the lockers. The girl somewhat reluctantly made her way over to Brittany and slumped down on the bench. "What happened?" Brittany asked again, moving some hair out of Romana's face.

"I don't even know," Romana almost whispered.

"Can I help you figure it out?" Brittany prodded gently. Romana nodded almost imperceptibly. "Okay, well then you have to tell me what happened," Brittany said, smiling slightly.

"I got lunch for us, well, not even for us. I didn't get any for me, and then we started yelling, and somehow it just turned into a yelling match, and we both said not very nice stuff, and then I threw the food, and ran out," Romana said, quickly and all in one breath. Then she started to cry again.

"Alright, take deep breaths," Brittany reassured, rubbing the girls back. Once Romana had stopped crying and gotten her breathing under control, Brittany tried again, "This was with Evan?" The women asked, referring to who she thought was Romana's boyfriend. Romana shook her head. "Who then?" Brittany asked, softly.

"Evan and I broke up three months ago," Romana replied.

"Oh, I guess we haven't talked in a while," Brittany generally made sure she was pretty involved in all of the Cheerios lives to make sure the girls maintained a respected reputation instead of the one she and her teammates had had in high school. "Did Evan break up with you? Or did you break up with him?"

"I broke up with him," Romana asserted.

"For the boy that you just had a fight with?"

"Umm, not exactly."

"Care to elaborate?" Brittany raised her eyebrow in question.

"Well, the person I broke up with Evan for is, well, uh.." Romana trailed off, unsure how to proceed. She knew her coach was bisexual and married to a women, but she still didn't know how to say this.

"Is a girl," Brittany finished for Romana.

"Uh, yeah, yes. Wait, how did you know?" Romana suddenly looked a little bit worried, but primarily confused.

"I had years to perfect the use of neutral pronouns, my dear," Brittany smiled, sadly.

"Yeah, she's a girl," Romana sighed.

"And she doesn't like you back...?"

"I don't think she knows what she likes, but she refuses to talk about it. I mean, I'm basically throwing myself at her-"

"Rom, you know how I feel about you guys sharing your bod-"

"No, Coach, no. It's not like that. I know. I wouldn't do that, well, not anymore," Romana made a face, referring to her earlier years of high school.

Brittany squeezed the girl around her shoulders, "Everyone messes up."

"Yeah, but I promise. I'm just like, flirting with her, and, uhh, like being more touchy than I need to be and..god, you know what I mean right?" Romana's face was turning a light shade of red.

Brittany chuckled quietly, "Yes, I know what you mean. So you guys are good friends-"

"Best friends," Romana interrupted.

"Best friends," Brittany corrected, "but you want to be more. And you don't think she knows what she wants."

Romana nodded in confirmation, "But she has the emotional prowess of a worm, so talking to her never works. She always just changes the subject or leaves or ignores me completely when I bring up anything even remotely close to romantic feelings. And trust me when I say remotely."

"Well, that sounds remarkably similar to the way my wife and I were in high school. I hate to say this, but really all you can do is wait. I mean, if she isn't talking, which my wife refused to, then you just have to wait until she's ready."

Romana nodded, resignedly, "Thanks Coach."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Come talk to me more often, okay? I don't want to have to hunt you down every few weeks," Brittany joked, giving the girl a quick hug.

Romana cracked a smile, "I will," she promised, standing and walking out of the locker room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi, guys,**

**Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I've been really busy lately. Thank you for all the reviews, especially Tamara, wankylove89, and thankthatstar! I really really appreciate your support. Everyone please PM me or post in the comments if you have any special requests for the story! **

**Thanks,**

**allANN**

When Brittany got home that night, she was greeted at the door by her wife. Their apartment smelled heavenly, and there was a small table with a candle in the middle waiting for her. "Hi, hon," Brittany said, kissing her wife hello. "What's all this?" She suddenly panicked, "Did I forget something?" She ran through all their important dates in head, but found that the closest one, their anniversary, was almost three months away.

"No, calm down, love. You didn't miss anything," Santana reassured, taking Brittany's bag out of her hands, and hanging her coat by the door. "Today just reminded how thankful I am that you waited for me and helped me open up and stayed with me for this long, and I just wanted-"

Santana was cut-off by a kiss to her lips. "I love you, too, darling," Brittany whispered.

"I love you," Santana smiled against Brittany's lips. Her wife new exactly what she was trying to say. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl from Brittany's stomach. "Let's eat," Santana giggled.

Santana had prepared a beautiful three course meal for the two of them. After finishing the salad, Brittany broached the topic. "So, I had an interesting encounter today."

"Oh, yeah?" Santana prompted. "So did I."

"Do you want to go first?" Brittany asked.

"No, no. You go."

"Okay, so Romana Pebin is one of my Cheerios," Brittany started, as Santana raised her eyebrows. "And she came into the locker room crying today. I got her talking, and she and a significant other had a fight that ended up in insults and food being thrown."

"And is the significant other a girl?" Santana interrupted.

"Let me get there!" Brittany scolded, gently.

"Sorry, sorry. Go on. I'll be good," Santana promised.

"I know you will, you always are for me," Brittany replied suggestively. The blonde leaned across the table to bring her wife into a kiss.

Santana broke the kiss when she needed to breathe, "That was so inappropriate considering our conversation."

Brittany chuckled, then shrugged, noncommittally, "Anyways, she tried to be vague with neutral pronouns, but I've been there, and I knew it was a girl pretty much right away. So she finally was open with me, and told me there's this girl, whom I assume is your kid, that she broke up with her boyfriend for and she's been flirting with her nonstop. But, and I quote, the girl 'has the emotional prowess of a rock.'"

Santana burst out laughing at that. "If she is talking about Ashton, then that is an incredibly accurate descriptor. That is interesting. Well, we ran into Romana at BreadStix today, and she kissed Ashton on the cheek. And naturally, Ashton being Ashton, left the restaurant when confronted about it."

Brittany chewed slowly, "This is so weird."

"You mean how much they're like us?"

Brittany nodded, "When are you next meeting with Ashton?"

"On Friday, because there's no school on Monday."

"So you'll talk to her then?"

"Yup," Santana cleared their dessert plates. "Thanks for not giving up on me," she said, pulling Brittany into a standing position and kissing her passionately.

"I kind of like Ashton. She makes you all mushy when you get home," Brittany teased.

"I'm not mushy," Santana frowned.

"Yes, you are. It's okay, I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not! I'm hardcore and/or badass," Santana was pouting adorably.

"You are to the rest of the world. To me, you're a squishy, mushy, sweet, and adorable wife," Brittany said, punctuating every word with a kiss.

"Fine. But only to you," Santana leaned in to kiss her wife.

Brittany leaned away from her wife, and whispered, "What about the dishes?"

"Screw the dishes," Santana growled, pulling Brittany's shirt off, and then smashing their lips together.

Friday morning, Santana walked cheerily into Shelby's office. "Morning, Ms. Corcoran!"

"Uh, good morning Santana..?" Shelby replied with a question.

"Yes, it is a good morning," Santana sighed, plopping into a chair around Shelby's office table.

"Why's that?" Shelby asked, turning to face Santana.

"Well, Brittany, being the perfect wife that she is, got me up to see the sunrise this morning and brought coffee and breakfast with us. So we had a rooftop picnic while watching the sunrise."

"That's sweet of her," Shelby smiled, turning back to her computer to finish the email she was writing. "Ashton is leaving one of her classes in the middle to come here, so I'm not exactly sure when she'll be here."

"I'm happy to wait," Santana said, pulling out her phone to play Bejeweled. A few minutes later, they heard voices through the partially opened doors.

"-me alone!" One of the voices replied harshly.

"When are you going to tell me where you're sneaking off to? And who Santana Lopez actually is?" The other replied quickly.

"Maybe I'm not going to tell you anything! I don't have to tell you everything about my life!"

"No, you don't. But Ash, I'm worried about you. You haven't spoken to me since Monday. We haven't gone a day without at least texting since the middle of the summer!"

"Well, now we have. I'm so done with you pushing everything, Rom!" That confirmed Santana's suspicions about the two voices that were barely maintaining a normal volume.

"Please, Ash, just talk to me."

"Just go away," Ashton replied, cuttingly. A few moments later, Shelby's door opened and Ashton walked in.

"Hi," the girl collapsed onto a chair across from Santana.

"I'll be back in about an hour," Shelby said, standing and leaving her office.

"Hi," Santana replied to Ashton. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you? Cause from what I just heard in the hallway, more people than just Ms. Corcoran are worried about you," Santana stood, closing the door behind Shelby.

"You heard that?" Ashton asked, weakly.


End file.
